California's North Coast is not the only place
in America where good Cabernets and "Bordeaux-styled" blends are being
produced. Washington State now has an impressive track record that's
developed over the past 15 to 20 years.

We wanted to have a look at some of the currently-available bottlings.
This flight featured 4 wines labeled as "Cabernet Sauvignon" and four
"Bordeaux Blends".

One of the wines was the famous, much sought-after 2003 Cabernet from Quilceda
Creek. This wine received high numerical scores from point-collecting
eno-scribes, including a 100 point rating from Pierre Rovani in The Wine
Advocate. Steve Tanzer gave it 93 to 96 points and the Wine Spectator's
Harvey Steiman pegged it as a 95 point bottle.
Well, our "benchmark," reference point bottling finished in last place
when the votes were tallied up!

Actually, the statistics of point distribution in this tasting are interesting
since the overall quality was in the good to very good range. So, for
example, the group's first place wine had 3 first place votes, but no
seconds. The second place wine, though, had two firsts and 4 seconds, but
two lasts! Our 7th place wine had 2 firsts and 2 seconds, but 4
lasts!!! And the last place wine had no firsts or seconds and only one
last place vote.

The first place wine was only 8 points ahead of the 4th place wine. And
the last place wine was 9 points out of 5th place! That's further evidence
that the overall quality of the wines was similar.

The stats show, basically, that the wines were actually pretty close in terms of
overall quality. And, of course, it's interesting that nobody ranked the
Quilceda Creek as their top choice, despite it having so many glowing reviews
from various critical journals. Draw your own conclusions.

8th Place: QUILCEDA CREEK 2003 Washington CABERNET SAUVIGNONOne critic told us "I liked it, but there was a bothersome, off
note here." Someone else found this highly-touted wine to be
"Ripe and briary, with toasted vanilla notes along with oak and leathery
tones. It's also a bit grapey and rather bitter." Bob Gorman
found "a bit of wet stones, but it's rather un-evolved, so it's difficult
to really evaluate at this stage. I dunno!" Other voices
mentioned this being "more like a Merlot" and "big."
Showing medium+ ruby color, I found floral notes in this wine which marked it as
the "Margaux alongside a bunch of St. Juliens and Pauillacs," if
you're sensitive to these subtly different fragrances. You might detect
hints of violets on the nose. Medium-bodied, the Quilceda Creek Cabernet
tastes of dark and ripe, sweet fruit. The floral tone comes through on the
palate, confirming the notes I found on the nose. I felt this was a far
less astringent rendition of Quilceda Creek. Frequently their Cabernets
have been very astringent and this wine shows better balance. I'd give it
5-10 years, less than the "experts" have suggested in their evaluation
of this wine. One star on my three star scale, no stars being an average
or standard quality wine.

7th Place: L'ECOLE No. 41 2003 Walla Walla "APOGEE"
Pepper Bridge VineyardOne critic said "I didn't find much here. It's a simple wine,
with a sharp finish and it's hot. I didn't like it." Another
panel member found it has "rather abrasive tannins." A third
person described this as "acidic and hollow with a medium-short
finish." A final critic said "It's dull on the nose, with a bit
of sweet oak. The Cabernet fruit takes a while to blossom. This may
simply need time to evolve."
Medium-light ruby red in color, this shows a ripe aspect to the fruit and hints
of cocoa powder fragrances. There's also a light bit of oak to the
bouquet. Dry and medium-full on the palate, there's a nice bit of dark
fruit flavors reminiscent of blackcurrants. A hint of anise adds a spice
note to go with some nice wood. Five to eight years of cellaring
potential...one star.

6th Place: SPRING VALLEY 2004 Walla Walla Valley
"URIAH""Here's a fairly simple wine, as this offers cherry and berry
fruit." said one critic. Another echoed this sentiment, finding
"cherry jujube notes, some cocoa and a dusty tone. The tannins are
'easy' and it's a short-term wine." Someone else described finding
notes of "hot chocolate," while a fourth critic encountered
"earthy and mushroomy elements." Another person found notes of
"black licorice," while someone else asked if this didn't have
"other varieties than Cabernet. It's almost over-ripe and sweet and
not especially reminiscent of Cabernet Sauvignon."
Showing a medium intensity to its ruby color, this blossomed nicely in the
glass, showing oak and dark fruit elements. I found hints of berries and
plums with a dusty tone and a note of vanilla beans. The flavors confirmed
the nose, showing dark fruit, a dusty elements and a hint of plummy fruit.
I liked the structure, too, finding perhaps 5 to 10 years of cellaring
potential. One-and-a-half stars on my score sheet.

5th Place: DELILLE 2004 Columbia Valley "D-2""I found a sweeter profile to this wine," said one critic.
"It's not mainly Cabernet, though. Clean, fruity and nice
mouthfeel. It faded a bit, though." Another taster described
this 'second' wine from DeLille as "tight and compact nose, with currant
fruit and it's light and simple, with a soft finish. It's a rather simple
wine." A third taster mentioned "It's the hottest wine of the
tasting."
Medium-light ruby in color, I found aromas reminiscent of berries and 'sweet'
notes of red fruits. As it sat, a mild tea-like note emerged.
Medium-bodied, the flavors showed dark fruit elements and it's a bit structured
and tannic. Good berry flavors, though. It might last nicely for 5
to 10 years. One star.

4th Place: LEONETTI CELLAR 2004 Walla Walla Valley CABERNET
SAUVIGNONOne taster found this to show "Lovely, sweet oak and it's elegant
and very pretty." A detractor felt it was "way too sweet, so I
ranked it down." Another taster said "It's got a perfumy
nose...a great nose, actually," while someone else found "dusty notes
and cassis-like fruit with nice oak. On the palate, the tannins are more
serious." One person felt the tannins out-weighed the fruit and
another critic said the wine needed more depth and complexity.
Medium+ ruby color, I found a wonderful fragrance of dark fruit with black plum
notes and lots of cassis. Yes, there's nice oak here, as has been the
signature style of Leonetti, but it's far less pronounced than some earlier
vintages. I described the wine as more cedary and woodsy than overtly
"oaky." Medium-full to full-bodied on the palate, the wine had
deep, dark, plummy fruit and moderate tannins. I liked this quite a
bit...nice balance of fruit and tannin for my tastes. Five to ten years of
cellaring potential. Two+ stars, maybe two-and-a-half.

3rd Place: J. BOOKWALTER 2003 Columbia Valley CABERNET SAUVIGNON"I found a minty character here, with some tobacco-like
overtones. It's medium-full on the palate and has minty flavors, with
black fruit notes. Harmonious and balanced, there's a bit of tannin.
Nice!" said one fan. Another taster described this as "Big, rich
and ripe with dark berry fruit. It was a bit stinky to start, but the
funky aromas blew off." Bob Gorman characterized this as "Queer,
as though there was a plasticine, medicinal odor. The Cabernet finally
emerges, though and it has nice length on the palate." Someone else
described this as "Bordeaux-like," and another taster echoed this
sentiment, adding "It's reminiscent of some big, Northern Medoc
wines. A hint of a barnyard note did not detract from my enjoyment of this
wine."
Having a deep ruby color, I did not find any off notes on the nose of the
Bookwalter wine. This wine really blossomed handsomely over the course of
the tasting. It showed nice berry fruit to start and then a mildly cedary
element came in afterwards, with a touch of anise. I liked the texture of
the wine on the palate. Nice, dark fruit flavors with berries and a
woodsy, cedary quality. Good balance between fruit and tannin and nice
length propelled this towards the top on my score sheet. Two stars.

2nd Place: PIROUETTE 2003 Columbia Valley "Red Wine"This wine comes from the Long Shadows Vintners portfolio, being a wine
produced by Augustin Huneeus Senior (former Concha y Toro, Franciscan,
Quintessa, etc. wine guy) and Philippe Melka (Bryant, Hundred Acre, Seavey,
Lail, etc., wine consultant). "It's toasty, smoky, full, lots of
glycerine and plenty of black fruits." said one critic, adding "It's
tannic but the fruit overwhelms the tannin. It's got nice roasted meat
flavors along with some chocolate and vanilla." Someone else
described this as having "mint on the nose and chocolate mint on the
palate." A third panel member found "leathery and resiny
notes." A final taster mentioned finding "...a nice nose,
concentrated blackberry, some oak, coffee grounds and lots of 'stuff'
here."
I was not at all attracted to this wine. It has deep ruby color, with
smoky, leesy, sulphur stick, burnt match, leesy, yeasty notes which were
off-putting. Poured in a black glass, I might guess this as a leesy,
much-stirred-on-the-spent-yeast Chardonnay from Burgundy! The flavors are
more cohesive and it tastes better than it smells. Dark fruit and woodsy
notes, though I still detected some of that sulfury, yeasty tone. No stars
from me, though others enjoyed this wine!

1st Place: PEPPERBRIDGE 2003 Walla Walla Valley CABERNET
SAUVIGNON"Sweet, candied fruit nose with a hint of minerality," said
one critic, adding "It's got a big, long finish and nice
structure." A second critic found it "ripe and plummy,"
while someone else found "Roasted or grilled meats." One panel
member found "A soft and ripe wine, with a molasses-like edge. It's
tasty, but the fruit falters." A final voice mentioned finding
"licorice and lots of fruit, ripe currants and some notes of sweet
chocolate."
My 7th place wine, I found a medium-deep ruby color to the Pepperbridge
wine. There's a woodsy note here with lots of dark fruit; definitely
Cabernet-based with some charred wood tones. I was slightly bothered by a
smoky tone, bordering on a yeasty, sulfury element on the nose. It's a
slightly charry-flavored red wine, soft and easy on the palate. I didn't
find this to have much cellaring potential as it's quite ready to drink
presently in my view. Perhaps a half star rating.

Please note: The wines tasted are not always wines
we have (or have had) in the shop.
Many bottles are merely for our enological exploration.
Price quoted are current at the time of the tasting, but may be different
when you're reading this.

WE HAVE NOT ORGANIZED A TASTING IN A WHILE...
BUT WE DO POST THE RESULTS OF A PRIVATE TASTING GROUP THAT'S BEEN MEETING FOR
MORE THAN 40 YEARS!

We are working on
organizing some blind-tastings at the shop.
Send us a note to indicate your interest in participating.
These would be on Wednesday evenings and you'd need to bring 8 wine glasses.